President Trump is now threatening federal transit funding — which could hit small urban and rural transit agencies hardest.
byLeeAnn Hall OtherWords
Despite the government reopening, Americans are still suffering from the chaos of an administration that is out of touch with the needs of the people.
Though federal workers are back on the job and agencies are resuming their work, countless essential programs are stalled or at risk, costing all of us by failing to invest in the services we need, like health care, housing, and transit.
Photo provided
LeeAnn Hall
Reopening the government is not the same as restarting the economy — and if Congress and the White House want to turn relief into momentum, they need to put real investment behind one of the strongest engines of growth we have: public transportation.
Public transportation is one of the best economic investments a government can make. Every $1 billion invested in public transit creates and supports more than 50,000 jobs, according to the American Public Transportation Association.
Strong transit networks attract businesses, get people to their jobs, and revitalize downtowns. Cities like Denver, Dallas, and Seattle have already seen how modern transit systems can spur billions in investment around new rail lines and stations.
Transportation also lies at the heart of our affordability crisis. It’s the second highest cost burden for most American households, just below housing.
But instead of addressing this head on, the administration is reneging on its funding obligations for projects of all types and threatening to further deplete investments that would give us more affordable options to get around. Across the country, bus lines are being cut, subway systems are aging, and commuter rail projects are stalled because federal funding remains uncertain or insufficient.
Which is why it is so troubling that the Trump administration is threatening to take the unprecedented step of gutting federal transit funding altogether in the next funding fight.
While this move may have the politically motivated goal of impacting larger transit systems in cities like New York and Los Angeles, what the administration does not realize is that the communities that would suffer the most are those with transit agencies who rely the most heavily on federal funding:.
These include small urban and rural agencies like the ones you’ll find in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Flagstaff, Arizona, or Rocky Mount, North Carolina, where students rely on transit to get to class, warehouse workers rely on transit to get to work, and older adults rely on transit to remain independent and stay connected to their communities.
Washington’s next move should be clear: reject Trump’s plan to gut transit funding and pass a long-term, fully funded transit package.
That means investing in operating funding, supporting maintenance and modernization, and putting resources towards expansion, so that local and state partners aren’t left to carry the burden alone. The return on that investment isn’t abstract — it’s faster commutes, stronger local economies, and cleaner air.
But this will require political will from our leaders. It means resisting the easy allure of short-term fixes like formula funding for highway expansion and narrow discretionary grants for transit, and instead delivering the long-term funding for the infrastructure that makes cities thrive.
Federal and state governments must prioritize sustained, predictable funding for local transit agencies. At the local level, cities should redesign streets for buses, bikes, and pedestrians — not just cars.
The government is open again. Good. Now let’s keep the country moving — literally.
A nation that invests in its people’s ability to move freely and affordably is a nation that’s investing in its own growth. And we need that more than ever.
LeeAnn Hall is the Executive Director of the National Campaign for Transit Justice. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
Moms across the U.S. are sharing similar struggles, highlighting the systemic failures in family and child care policy. Stories from Sweden, Norway, Canada, and Portugal show alternatives where child care is affordable and supportive of parents.
by Brea Harris OtherWords
At three months old, my son was kicked out of his daycare.
I had spent my pregnancy navigating my city’s brutal child care landscape — posting on social media looking for nanny shares, adding my name to year-long waitlists, and wondering how I was going to pay the astronomical daycare fees.
So when I found this place, I felt a flood of relief. It was close to my job, half the cost of others in the area, and had a gold star recommendation from a friend of a friend. It seemed like a unicorn amidst daycares. It seemed like the perfect fit.
Yet less than a week after I returned to work, I received a call asking me to pick up my son because he was crying too much. The next day, same call. After a few days I was told “it was not a good fit.” I had until the end of the month.
I quickly learned that I’m not alone. Almost every mom I know has a story like this.
I had exhausted my PTO and depleted my savings in an attempt to offset the costs of my unpaid leave. I don’t have family nearby. I’m a single mom working in healthcare unable to work remotely or stay home full time. And I had no idea where I was going to send my three month old son during the day while I worked.
I sent out desperate pleas to mom groups in my area and eventually, through the power of the moms in my community, I found the daycare he now attends.
I love this daycare. However, it costs more than my rent — it puts a $1,600 deficit in my monthly budget. So with each passing month I fall further behind on car payments, student loans, utilities. And every day I field calls from debt collectors.
All of this is due to the cost of child care.
It was moms that helped me secure a last minute daycare spot.
When I started sharing my story with friends, coworkers, and random moms on the playground, I quickly learned that I’m not alone. Almost every mom I know has a story like this. They’ve been juggling budget deficits to afford care, pleading for financial aid, adding their names to yearlong wait lists, reducing their work hours, or cutting their careers short.
The details vary, but the common thread is this: Child care costs are unsustainable.
This late night rabbit hole affirmed what I already knew in my gut: moms in the U.S. are struggling due to systemic issues and policy failures. And it does not have to be this way.
In my 13 months of motherhood, I’ve already witnessed the power moms have when we band together. It was moms that helped me secure a last minute daycare spot. It was moms who recently gathered at a local park to swap baby gear in response to rising prices.
And it will be moms who demand more from our policymakers when it comes to the accessibility of child care in our country.
AI is everywhere. Data centers produce massive noise pollution and use huge amounts of water. Renewable energy is cheaper than fossil fuels. So why are AI giants choosing coal and gas over wind and solar?
AI is everywhere. But its powerful computing comes with a big cost to our planet, our neighborhoods, and our wallets.
AI servers are so power hungry that utilities are keeping coal-fired power plants that were slated for closure running to meet the needs of massive servers. And in the South alone, there are plans for 20 gigawatts of new natural-gas power plants over the next 15 years — enough to power millions of homes — just to feed AI’s energy needs.
Photo: Markus Spiske/Unsplash
AI server farms are massive energy users and the driving source of residential utility price increases. How far are we away from humans becoming the power source for data centers like in the movie The Matrix?
Multi-billion dollar companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta that previously committed to 100 percent renewable energy are going back to the Jurassic Age, using fossil fuels like coal and natural gas to meet their insatiable energy needs. Even nuclear power plants are being reactivated to meet the needs of power-hungry servers.
At a time when we need all corporations to reduce their climate footprint, carbon emissions from major tech companies in 2023 have skyrocketed to 150 percent of average 2020 values.
AI data centers also produce massive noise pollution and use huge amounts of water. Residents near data centers report that the sound keeps them awake at night and their taps are running dry.
AI’s demand for power is also raising electric rates for customers nationwide.
Many of us live in communities that either have or will have a data center, and we’re already feeling the effects. This is certainly true in Illinois, which has one of the highest numbers of data centers in the country. Many of these plants further burden communities already struggling with a lack of economic investment, access to basic resources, and exposure to high levels of pollution.
To add insult to injury, amid stagnant wages and increasing costs for food, housing, utilities, and consumer goods, AI’s demand for power is also raising electric rates for customers nationwide. To meet the soaring demand for energy that AI data servers demand, utilities need to build new infrastructure, the cost of which is being passed onto all customers.
Photo: Geoffrey Moffett/Unsplash
Prescient Data Centres in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. Ireland has 134 data centers, operated by 28 providers, with the largest, a 326,803 sqft facility, run by Google.
A recent Carnegie Mellon study found that AI data centers could increase electric rates by 25 percent in Northern Virginia by 2030. And NPR recently reported that AI data centers were a key driver in electric rates increasing twice as fast as the cost of living nationwide — at a time when one in six households are struggling to pay their energy bills.
All of these impacts are only projected to grow. AI already consumes enough electricity to power 7 million American homes. By 2028, that could jump to the amount of power needed for 22 percent of all US households.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
AI could be powered by renewable energy that is non-polluting and works to reduce energy costs for us all. The leading AI companies, who have made significant climate pledges, must lead the way.
They must ensure that communities have a real voice in how and where AI data centers are built ...
Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta have all made promises to the communities they serve to tackle climate and pollution. They all have climate pledges. And they have made significant investments in renewable energy in the past.
Those investments make sense, since renewables are the most affordable form of electricity. These companies have the know-how and the wealth to power AI with wind, solar, and batteries — which makes it all the more puzzling that they’re relying on fossil fuels to power the future.
If these corporate giants are to be good neighbors, they first need to be open and honest about the scope and scale of the problem and the solutions needed.
As these companies invest billions in technology for AI, they must re-up investments in renewables to power our future and protect our communities. They must ensure that communities have a real voice in how and where AI data centers are built — and that our communities aren’t sacrificed in the name of profits.
Dan Howells is the Climate Campaigns Director at Green America. Todd Larsen is Green America’s Executive Co-Director. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
TAGGED: AI energy consumption impact, Big Tech climate pledges, data centers water and noise pollution, renewable energy for AI servers, AI and rising electricity bills
Most Americans still tell pollsters immigration is good for their communities and reject cruel deportations, especially those that separate families, target people without criminal records, or penalize people who came here as young children.
byEmily Rodiguez OtherWords
In the 19 years my uncle has worked in the healthcare industry, he’s only missed one day — the day his mother, my grandmother, passed away. He would then help plan a funeral he couldn’t attend.
Photo provided
If you live in his small town in Utah, you know my uncle. He’s the big man you see on a bike riding all over town. He’s part of the kitchen staff at a care facility and a friend to the other workers and patients. He’s the man who has the bus schedule memorized and can get you anywhere.
He’s also the man who was forced to miss his mother’s funeral in his home country. His immigration status requires him to apply for travel authorization, which can take months and puts him at risk of being denied reentry. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t possible for him to make it.
While it’s characterized as temporary, over 200,000 TPS holders have lived here for more than two decades.
Stories like these are all too common. And they could soon get worse.
My uncle has what’s called Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. TPS was created by Congress in 1990 to provide work authorization and protection from deportation to individuals from designated countries enduring armed conflict or environmental disasters.
Over a million people rely on the program. While it’s characterized as temporary, over 200,000 TPS holders have lived here for more than two decades. They’ve established lives here, yet live with the fear that it could be taken away at any moment.
Unfortunately, that moment has arrived.
President Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem have made it clear that they’re coming for TPS. The administration has carelessly terminated or rescinded the legal status of hundreds of thousands of TPS holders, needlessly uprooting their lives.
These deported TPS holders are now expected to navigate poverty, instability, violence, and other unsafe conditions in countries many haven’t lived in for decades. Many struggle to reintegrate after their return, and are often targeted by local criminal groups.
While the administration slanders TPS holders as criminals, an overwhelming amount of research shows that immigrants actually make our communities safer. They have a nearly 95 percent employment rate and generate over $1.3 billion in federal taxes, contributing to programs like Social Security and Medicare. With a high rate of entrepreneurship, they generate a spending power of more than $8 billion.
Their positive impact is undeniable. Yet instead of providing a pathway to citizenship, the Trump administration is systematically phasing out TPS and imposing significant financial hardship on TPS holders and their communities.
I urge you to defend the rights of your neighbors.
In addition to deeply slashing programs like SNAP to fund tax benefits for the wealthy, Trump and the GOP’s “Big Beautiful Bill” also adds exorbitant new fees for immigrants with TPS, asylum seekers, and migrants on humanitarian parole. The new law increases initial application fees for TPS holders from $50 to $500 and adds a non-waivable $550 fee for work authorization for first-time applicants — along with a new annual renewal fee of at least $275.
My uncle has already paid thousands of dollars in renewal fees during his 20 years as a TPS recipient, saving the money needed from his $16 an hour job to continue to work and provide for his family. Because my uncle loves this country, he’ll pay these predatory fees.
But he shouldn’t have to — and neither should anyone else on TPS. Our communities are better because TPS holders are here. Their livelihoods are in jeopardy unless Congress provides them a pathway to citizenship.
The American Dream and Promise Act would provide TPS holders — along with DACA recipients and other undocumented youth — a pathway to citizenship, along with the permanent relief and stability they and their families deserve.
As the niece of one of the one million-plus TPS holders, I urge you to defend the rights of your neighbors. Now is the time to protect what makes our communities so great.
Emily Rodiguez, a native of Utah, is a recent college graduate who’s pursuing a career in public policy. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
It’s important that we remain vigilant — and important that we not let violence or intimidation keep us from the duty we owe ourselves, each other, and our country.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
In the largest demonstration this year against President Trump's immigration and social program policies, nearly 3,000 people filled the streets for the Urbana 'No Kings' rally. Massive crowds across the country took part in peaceful, simultaneous protests on Flag Day.
byPeter Montgomery OtherWords
What a hopeful sight! My social media on June 14 and 15 was filled with people sharing pictures from “No Kings” gatherings.
Aerial photos of massive crowds in big cities. Snapshots of surprisingly large turnouts in small conservative communities. Sidewalk gatherings by residents of an assisted living center.
Millions of Americans signed up, made funny and serious signs, and came together around a basic principle: No Kings.
No Kings means no one-person rule. Our president must abide by the Constitution, follow the law, and respect the other branches of government.
No Kings means no government by edict or tweet. No president can unilaterally rewrite the law, take away due process, and impose his will on the rest of us.
No Kings means no king. Other government officials, including those who serve in our armed forces, do not swear loyalty to a ruler but to the Constitution.
These aren’t radical ideas. They are foundational American ideals. They are being severely tested right now. But research from around the world shows that autocracies do not survive sustained nonviolent resistance.
The rallies came after a week in which the president mobilized the military against American protesters in Los Angeles. Americans declared “No Kings” on the same weekend as a military parade demanded by the president and held on his birthday rumbled through our capital city.
The parade was resisted by military leaders during the president’s first term. It came after a political purge of generals and military lawyers who might say no. And it came after the president made intensely partisan speeches at West Point and Fort Bragg that suggested he views the American military as an arm of his political movement. That’s scary.
If the president hoped the military parade would provide some kind of boost to his strongman self-image, he was sorely disappointed. Despite the millions of dollars wasted shipping tanks and troops to Washington, D.C., the crowd fell far short of expectations. It was a stark contrast with the energized turnout for No Kings.
That energy must be sustained.
Corruption and abuse of power continue to threaten American families and communities as politicians vote to cut people’s access to food, education, and healthcare so they can give tax breaks to influential billionaires.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Urbana protestors joined millions around the US in No Kings rallies around the country.
The president is surrounded by people urging him to ignore our checks and balances. His worst impulses are being enabled by too many members of Congress who fear his wrath more than they respect the Constitution and their oath to uphold it.
The president’s habit of demeaning and dehumanizing his opponents and political targets makes violence more likely. So did his decision to pardon people who attacked Capitol Police on January 6.
The danger posed by our poisoned political climate became horrifyingly clear with the assassination and attempted assassination of Democratic leaders in Minnesota by a gunman with a list of pro-choice politicians, Planned Parenthood locations, and a flyer for local No Kings events.
A rally goer in Utah was killed accidentally when a security guard opened fire to stop a man moving toward the crowd with a rifle. That same day, police arrested a man with a concealed handgun and two full ammunition magazines as he tried to get past security at a Pride event in Florida.
It’s important that we remain vigilant — and important that we not let violence or intimidation keep us from the duty we owe ourselves, each other, and our country. If we want to keep “No Kings” a reality as well as a rallying cry, that will require ongoing commitment and action from “We, the people.”
Peter Montgomery is a Senior Fellow at People for the American Way. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
Republicans in Congress are jamming through a sweeping bill to fund handouts to the rich - at the cost of jobs, health care, and food in rural America.
Photo: Jakob Owens/Unsplash
byMichael Chameides OtherWords
Right now, Congress is working on a giant, fast-track bill that would make historic cuts to basic needs programs to finance another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.
As the Communications and Policy Director for the Rural Democracy Initiative, I’ve been hearing from rural leaders across the country about the devastating impacts this bill would have.
The good news is it’s not too late. But there’s little time to spare.
This dangerous, unpopular bill would increase costs for rural working families by thousands of dollars per year, leaving millions hungry and without health care — all to provide tax breaks and handouts to the wealthy and special interests.
Here are just six of the worst provisions.
1. It guts rural healthcare.
The bill would drastically cut Medicaid and impose new barriers to care. It would take healthcare away from 13.8 million Americans and increase the cost for millions more. In some states, 50 percent of rural children get healthcare from Medicaid. Millions more rely on access to clinics and hospitals that would likely close because of these cuts.
The plan includes approximately $290-$319 billion in cuts to SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps) even as the cost of groceries continues to escalate. More than 15 percent of families in small towns and rural areas rely on this support to feed their families.
3. It shifts costs to states and local governments.
State and local governments in rural areas depend more on federal funding from programs like SNAP and Medicaid than other states. Slashing federal funding to states would create new burdens for rural states that are already struggling to provide critical public services like health care, transportation, and emergency response services to local communities.
4. It takes away local control.
Landowners have fought to stop the use of eminent domain for carbon pipelines by passing bans and moratoria, as well as enacting county setbacks and safety requirements to protect their communities.
But this bill would overrule state and local laws and ordinances, override local voices, and deprive residents of a fair opportunity to evaluate the adverse impacts of pipelines. It also sets up a “pay to play” system under which companies can simply pay for pipeline, mining, and drilling permits — and avoid public comment and legal challenges.
5. It ends clean energy and infrastructure funding.
The bill would phase out existing tax credits for wind, solar, batteries, geothermal, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing. It would also take away $262 million in funding for energy efficiency and conservation grants as well as transportation infrastructure.
Ending these tax credits will increase household energy costs, which are already higher in many rural communities. These changes would also reduce new clean energy projects — and jeopardize billions in rural investments in clean energy manufacturing.
6. It gives handouts to agribusiness and mega farms.
Leaders in Congress are using the budget reconciliation process to give big farms a $50 billion windfall. Add the heightened pressures and instability caused by the Trump administration’s erratic trade policy and more family farmers would lose their farms — while Big Ag consolidates more of the market.
In short, this bill would make it harder for rural people to meet their basic needs — all so the wealthy and corporations can avoid paying their fair share of taxes like the rest of us do.
Lawmakers have already heard from the giant corporations who helped write the bill. Now, they need to hear from the rest of us. It’s up to us to alert our communities and tell our lawmakers: Don’t sell rural America out to big corporations and the wealthy.
Michael Chameides is the Communications and Policy Director for the Rural Democracy Initiative. A longer version of this op-ed was originally published by Barn Raiser. This version was distributed for syndication by OtherWords.org.
Most Americans still tell pollsters immigration is good for their communities and reject cruel deportations, especially those that separate families, target people without criminal records, or penalize people who came here as young children.
byMeredith Lehman OtherWords
I recall seeing a sign in a yard in my small hometown of around 12,000 residents. “No matter where you are from,” it said, “we’re glad you are our neighbor.”
It was positioned defiantly, facing a Trump sign that had been plunged into the neighbor’s yard across the street. It poignantly illustrated the tensions in my rural Ohio town, which — like many similar communities — has experienced a rapid influx of immigrants over the last 20 years.
The sign’s sentiment was simple yet profound. I found myself wondering then, as I wonder now, when compassion had become so complicated. It seems everyone has become preoccupied arguing over the minutiae of immigration that they’ve missed the most glaring and essential point: We are neighbors.
Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, a truth so widely acknowledged that it bridges the ever-growing partisan divide.
While writing this piece, I gathered studies and prepared a detailed analysis of the ways immigrants have transformed and revitalized the economies of the Rust Belt. I was going to explain how immigrants have helped fill vacant housing and industry in this region’s shrinking cities to reverse the toll of population decline.
I gathered statistics showing the economic growth and revitalization that’s happened as immigrants have brought flourishing small businesses to their new communities. Like: Despite making up only around 14 percent of the U.S. population, immigrants own 18 percent of small businesses with employees — and nearly a quarter of small businesses without employees. (And immigrants in Rust Belt cities are even more likely to be entrepreneurs.)
Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, a truth so widely acknowledged that it bridges the ever-growing partisan divide. Both Vice President JD Vance and former Vice President Kamala Harris have promoted the critical role of small businesses in economic flourishing.
I was going to tell a story about Joe, a vendor at my local flea market. He and other vendors were heavily averse to migrants purchasing the dilapidated building from the previous owner. Now they laud the building’s new management and improved conditions.
I was going to describe the experiences of my recently immigrated high school peers, who sometimes fell asleep in class from sheer exhaustion after working night shifts at meatpacking plants and attending school for seven hours the next day.
I was going to explain why communities not only benefit from immigrants, but need them.
As immigration is expected to become the sole driver of U.S. population growth by 2040, restrictive immigration policies threaten to undermine this vital program, as a cornerstone of the American social safety net.
Without immigrants, I learned, U.S. communities would lose the nearly $1 trillion of state, local, and federal taxes that immigrants contribute annually. This number is almost $300 billion more than immigrants receive in government benefits.
Without immigration, the U.S. working-age population is projected to decline by approximately 6 million over the next two decades — a shift that would carry significant consequences, especially for the Social Security system. Sustained population growth is critical to preserving a balanced ratio of workers contributing to Social Security for every beneficiary receiving support.
As immigration is expected to become the sole driver of U.S. population growth by 2040, restrictive immigration policies threaten to undermine this vital program, as a cornerstone of the American social safety net. With broad public support for strengthening Social Security, embracing immigration is not just beneficial — it is essential to ensuring the program’s long-term stability and success.
I was prepared to comb through every dissent in an effort to prove why our neighbors are deserving of empathy and compassion. But none of these answers address the larger, more urgent question: When did being neighbors cease to be enough?
Most Americans still tell pollsters immigration is good for their communities and reject cruel deportations, especially those that separate families, target people without criminal records, or penalize people who came here as young children.
My rural Ohio town, and countless communities like it, are slowly learning the most important lesson about this supposedly complicated issue: Compassion doesn’t need to be complicated.
Meredith Lehman is a research associate at the Institute for Policy Studies. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org
We saw fellow Americans join in support to defend what’s best about our country at these rallies.
byPeter Montgomery OtherWords
Millions of Americans in more than 1,200 cities and towns gathered with friends and neighbors on April 5 in a beautiful, energetic, nonviolent, and urgently needed expression of patriotism.
The Hands Off! protest drew well over 1,000 residents to the Champaign, IL, rally at Westside Park on April 5.
We used our freedom of speech to send urgent messages to our political leaders: Respect the rule of law and constitutional checks and balances. And stop sacrificing Americans’ well-being by gutting the government’s ability to protect workers, consumers, communities, and the environment.
The gatherings were also a call to our fellow Americans to defend what’s best about our country, and to resist the destructive policies of President Donald Trump and his chainsaw-wielding billionaire buddy Elon Musk.
In our politically divided times, we often think simplistically about “red” and “blue” states. We talk as if our differences mean we don’t have anything important in common. It’s not true. People turned out from Alabama to Alaska, Tennessee to Texas, and Missouri to Montana.
Liberals and conservatives and everyone in between can find common ground in the idea that the Constitution should protect all of us. That we all benefit from clean air and water, scientific research, and basic public health capabilities.
Whatever our political leanings, we should fear and resist the idea that the government can rob people of their rights and freedom and make them disappear into foreign prisons without any way to prove their innocence. We should fear and resist government purging history from websites, books from libraries, and ideas that break with “official” ideology from museums and classrooms.
Many people have been dismayed to see powerful institutions like law firms, universities, and media companies give in to bullying from the president. We get discouraged by repeated failures of courage from elected officials who have sworn to uphold the Constitution.
But despair doesn’t get us anywhere. Action does. That’s why the April 5 gatherings were so important. People braved wind and rain, overcame their own hesitations and fears, and expressed their concerns and hopes for our future on creative, angry, funny, and inspiring signs.
Being together was a reminder that there is power in numbers. Courage can be contagious. Momentum is building.
Protests aren’t the only way Americans are fighting for what they love about this country.
Nonprofit legal groups have filed dozens of legal challenges to defend our rights and stop lawbreaking by the Trump administration. State attorneys general are doing the same. More than 500 law firms have risked retaliation from the president by signing a legal brief opposing the ways he’s abusing power to intimidate and punish lawyers for the work they do.
Senator Cory Booker recently inspired millions of Americans by speaking on the Senate floor for more than 25 hours about the ways people are being hurt by the actions of this administration. “It’s not left or right,” he said, “It’s right or wrong.”
Booker broke a record held by the late Senator Strom Thurmond, who made his place in history by blocking civil rights legislation. So it was appropriate that Booker quoted the late civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis — who, Booker recalled, “said for us to go out and cause some good trouble, necessary trouble, to redeem the soul of our nation.”
Congratulations to everyone who turned out on April 5 to create “good trouble.” Prepare to do it again and again — and invite family, friends, and neighbors to join.
Defending democracy is not one-and-done. America was founded by people who rejected being subject to the whims of a king. In our time, if we are going to preserve and strengthen government by “we, the people,” we are the people to do it.
Peter Montgomery is a Senior Fellow at People for the American Way. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
Let’s say you’re lucky enough to get housing at that wage. Do you then spend all your money on rent and skip nutritious meals for your family?
byJocelyn Smith OtherWords
Photo: Donna Spearman/Unsplash
I know how it feels to be hungry and homeless.
That’s why after work, I drive around town and pick up leftover food from restaurants, schools, grocery stores, and special events. My fellow volunteers and I set up in a big parking lot in our downtown to make this food available to anyone who shows up — no questions asked.
And it’s why other volunteers and I also work to find empty housing units that have fallen into disrepair because the landlords can’t afford the upkeep. We raise money and give them grants so they can bring the units up to code for use as low-income housing rentals.
I’m proud to do this work. But it’s no substitute for fair, living wages and a reliable public safety net. The minimum wage where I live is $12 — well below the $21 per hour the National Low Income Housing Coalition has calculated is necessary to afford a market rate two-bedroom rental locally.
Let’s say you’re lucky enough to get housing at that wage. Do you then spend all your money on rent and skip nutritious meals for your family? Or do you skip health care and medication? If you have a paycheck and a roof over your head, you might not qualify for food assistance, even if you don’t make enough to make ends meet.
Photo: Joel Muniz/Unsplash
Foodbanks play a crucial role in addressing hunger and ensuring that vulnerable populations have access to nutritious food when they are unable to afford or access enough food on their own.
I work, volunteer, take care of my child, and I’m fortunate enough to have housing. But I still need to rely on SNAP — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as “food stamps” — for my family.
My daughter has epilepsy, and thankfully I was able to get her onto Social Security Disability Insurance. However, she needs not only costly medication but also frequent neurological supervision and a device that helps to stop her seizures. There’s no neurologist in our town who can treat her, so we have to travel and lodge hours away for it.
when we need help, the bar for our income shouldn’t be so low that we must be nearly destitute, without any savings or emergency cushion, to qualify.
The expense is enormous, and that’s not even getting into expensive medications for my own heart problems and autoimmune disorders. Thankfully, we qualify for Medicaid. Otherwise, treatment would be out of reach.
But what does it say about our policy priorities when we need to say, “I’m disabled, taking care of my disabled daughter, I work, and I help feed my community, and yet I need assistance affording meals for my family?” These are the realities that a good society plans for so we can all thrive, no matter what obstacles life throws our way.
The programs our tax dollars pay for so families like mine can get help when we need it must be more robust. Programs like SSDI shouldn’t be so inaccessible. Food, housing, and health care shouldn’t be so expensive — and wages shouldn’t be so low that these basic necessities are unaffordable.
And when we need help, the bar for our income shouldn’t be so low that we must be nearly destitute, without any savings or emergency cushion, to qualify.
Is Congress working on any of this? Unfortunately, no. Instead, they’re doing the opposite right now.
In fact, the GOP budget proposal would slash $880 billion from Medicaid and $230 billion from food assistance. They’re also cutting government agencies that assist with affordable housing, transportation, safety, veterans, and children with disabilities.
Why? Because they need to find at least $4.5 trillion to give even more tax cuts to the wealthiest and largest corporations. They are reaching into my very shallow pockets, into my daughter’s life-saving medical care, and into the mouths of those who come to my food table in that parking lot.
They’re stealing from us to give to the rich, perpetuating a vicious cycle of poverty that keeps people homeless and hungry.
I don’t think that’s fair. Do you? We all deserve better.
Jocelyn Smith lives in Roswell, New Mexico. She works at a local talk radio station, runs a local Food not Bombs chapter, and volunteers at Rehab to Rental, helping to increase affordable housing options. This op-ed was produced in partnership with the Institute for Policy Studies and the Working Class Storyteller and distributed by OtherWords.org.
It’s clear that this nation’s safety net has to be stronger so that people like me don’t fall through the cracks.
byMarisa Pesce
OtherWords
Tens of millions of Americans rely on the public assistance programs — like Medicaid, SNAP, housing aid, and more — that Republican leaders are now threatening to gut.
I’m one of them.
My dream is to regain the financial independence I once enjoyed before life and systemic obstacles got in the way. I come from a family with a history of mental illness and domestic abuse, and I’ve suffered through mental health challenges myself.
I’ve always worked hard. After high school, I earned a college degree and found the calling of being a teacher. I earned and paid for my Master’s degree while teaching full time as a high school math teacher. I still struggled with challenges, but life was good. The system had worked. I had a home and was financially independent.
I’ve had to rely on someone who participated in the domestic violence against me to help with rent.
Then, I was the victim of a major, life changing domestic violence event, and my life started to unwind. I had to relocate to another state where I didn’t have a place to call home, my benefits were less, and my mental illness was exacerbated by the isolation and trauma.
Despite the challenges I faced, I was able to find some needed assistance for food and mental health care as I got on my feet.
Also known as “food stamps,” the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was a godsend for helping me put food on the table. Throughout my life both Medicaid and Medicare have helped with mental health treatment, and the Supplemental Security Disability Income (SSDI) program helped keep me out of poverty.
These are precisely the circumstances for which temporary assistance for basic needs like food, housing, and health care exists. But affordable housing was unavailable in my new home state, and SNAP benefits were much lower — even as my food needs stayed the same.
So my debts increased, and I’ve had to rely on someone who participated in the domestic violence against me to help with rent. I have a little income from SSDI, and I volunteer to stay engaged in my calling to teach and help others while I fight to recover from losing my home and my ability to keep up financially.
It’s clear that this nation’s safety net has to be stronger so that people like me don’t fall through the cracks. But House Republicans are currently trying to cut food assistance and other benefits, not strengthen them.
I just want to eat, get better, and afford safe housing so I can get back on my feet, back to financial independence, and back to doing all I can to help my community.
I need more help putting food on the table. But they’re proposing cuts to drastically reduce federal funding for SNAP, expand already harsh working requirements, and change how our need for healthy food is calculated, which is likely to slash benefits. And they’re doing it all to finance $4.5 trillion in tax breaks for corporations and the wealthiest.
I just want to eat, get better, and afford safe housing so I can get back on my feet, back to financial independence, and back to doing all I can to help my community. Yet I and millions like me are nothing but pawns in a political game that aims to hurt us and help those who already have wealth.
When I was teaching, I taught my students about fairness and equality — about what it means to live in a society where we look out for each other, where no one is left to be ill, unhoused, and hungry. I think some politicians need to go back to school, because they seem to have forgotten lessons like these.
So it’s our job to school them. We must let them know that basic human needs are not fair game for getting money for tax cuts for billionaires. Instead, our priorities should be healthy and safe communities for all.
About the author:
Marisa Pesce is a teacher, human rights consultant, anti-poverty advocate, and volunteer with RESULTS from Providence, Rhode Island. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
President Trump has made it clear that he’s dead set on attacking our immigrant friends, families, and neighbors — and that the only people he’ll protect are his loyalists and billionaires.
Since day one, Trump has launched a blatantly hateful agenda against immigrants. He’s issued executive orders that would unlawfully shut down asylum at the U.S. southern border, use the military to separate families, and make it easier to detain and deport migrants — including detaining them at the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison.
Undocumented people contributed $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022 — just one tax year, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
These attacks come at an enormous cost to the entire country. The American Immigration Council estimates that mass deportations will cost $88 billion per year over the course of a decade.
There are already 40,000 people locked up in detention centers — and Trump’s detention expansion plan would triple that capacity. Republicans in the Houseand Senate are proposing plans of an eye-popping $175 billion or more to detain and deport undocumented people.
Nor are these the only costs. Undocumented people contributed $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022 — just one tax year, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. That’s nearly $100 billion in lost revenue a year that everyone else would end up having to cover.
But these attacks aren’t going unopposed. People are showing up for their immigrant neighbors and loved ones, making clear they simply won’t accept the nightmare of mass deportations and detentions.
The groups United We Dream, CASA, Make the Road States, and Action Lab recently pledged to build “a strong and sustainable movement to defend ourselves and our neighbors.” With their #CommunitiesNotCages campaign, Detention Watch Network is working with local communities to protest ICE actions and shut down detention centers.
And the list goes on.
On February 1, thousands of people blocked a highway in Los Angeles to protest against ICE raids. Just two days later, many gathered in solidarity for a Day Without Immigrants. On this day, students stayed home from school, employees didn’t show up to work, and over 250 businesses closed nationwide to show how important immigrants are to everyone’s day-to-day lives.
Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union and other major legal organizations sued the administration for seeking to shut down asylum at the border — on the grounds that it’s a violation of long-time international and domestic law.
Finally, my fellow immigrants and I are also standing our ground. We’re stating the facts: Immigration is good for our country, our economy, and our culture — something 68 percent of Americans agree with. And we’re here to stay.
Immigrants are essential to this country. We bring opportunity and possibility to the United States. And not only do we contribute as students and professionals, business owners, and essential workers — we’re also human beings trying to live good and successful lives like anyone else. We’re a part of the American story.
Now and more than ever, we’ll continue to show up for each other — and we hope you will, too. Our lives and families depend on it.
Alliyah Lusuegro is the Outreach Coordinator for the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
Peter Montgomery is a Senior Fellow at People for the American Way. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
